


Barbershop Lessons

by aintweproudriff



Series: Author's Picks [3]
Category: Newsies (1992), Newsies - All Media Types, Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken
Genre: F/F, Internalized Homophobia, M/M, Sarah cuts her hair!, yeah this is that, you know that one part in Little Women where Jo cuts her hair?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-14
Updated: 2017-10-14
Packaged: 2019-01-17 11:35:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,271
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12364884
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aintweproudriff/pseuds/aintweproudriff
Summary: Sarah takes a risk to help her family. Katherine takes a risk to help Sarah.





	Barbershop Lessons

**Author's Note:**

> I've been wanting to write this forever, but I've been so busy filling requests and such that I haven't gotten around to it. Can you believe I've never written a newsbians-only fic?

Sarah’s fingers deftly wove through her long brown hair, combing it neatly. She no longer needed to use a mirror to do this, but today she had a small hand mirror propped up against the wall, and she sat cross-legged in front of it. It wasn’t very ladylike, but in the moment that was the farthest thing from her mind. Her face was calm and unfeeling, much different than how she felt. As she braided her hair, she thought about how many times she had done exactly this. Separated her hair into three parts, the exact same way, with the exact same amount of hair, since she was at least seven years old. The same hair for ten years; she knew it was time for a change. One finger fell out of the bottom of her hair, and there was no more hair to braid. She tied it at the bottom without looking, and then tied it at the top of the braid before letting it fall to the back of her neck. 

Sarah knew she wasn’t the most beautiful woman in the world. Her face looked plain, and drew little attention. Her clothing certainly wouldn’t stand out in a crowd; her skirts weren’t as big as style demanded, and they were all her family had been able to afford. If anyone were to compliment her, it would be for her hair. Maybe she was selfish, she thought as she lifted the scissors. Maybe she was selfish for not wanting to do this, for being afraid she would lose her beauty if she went through with this. 

But there was no going back, not once she made the cut. The sound it made was horrible, like fingernails on a glass pane, but she kept cutting. Within a second, the braid fell off. 

She turned around as fast as she could. There it laid, blending in with the brown wood floor. Her hands moved to pick it up, and she held it with both hands, staring at it in shocked confusion. 

Her face in the mirror looked nothing like it had a few moments earlier. Her expression was panicked, confused. Instead of trailing down her back, her hair now stopped abruptly and awkwardly at her ears, making her look dirty and unkempt and masculine, like Jack did when he went for months without a haircut. When he got like that, Sarah would force him to let her cut his hair, and there had never been a moment of shock for him when he suddenly saw himself without his long hair. So why did she feel so surprised?

An echoey noise in the hallway scared her out of her contemplation. David’s voice, accompanied by Jack’s and Les’s, and one she did not recognize. In her fear, she grabbed one of Les’s hats, the black one he hadn’t worn today, and pulled what was left of her hair up into it. She shoved the braid into a dresser drawer, hiding it underneath an old newspaper. 

A knock sounded against the thick door. Sarah jumped, then took a deep breath to calm her beating heart. 

“Sarah? Are you in there? Les and I are home, Jack and Katherine are out here too, if you want to come and see them,” David called through the door. 

“I think I might stay in here a while longer, if that would be alright. I, uh, feel a little ill.”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” David replied. “Well, come on out if you feel any better, or give a yell if you need anything.”

“Thank you, David,” Sarah took the cap off, grateful that they weren’t coming in. She ran her fingers through her hair, and chided herself when she felt her hand fall from the bottom of it. Her arm had been expecting more hair to comb. 

With nothing to do, and being too afraid to step outside, Sarah sat on her bed and lamented her loss. It was vain of her, she knew. And yet, for some reason, her eyes refused to let her become accustomed to the new face in the mirror. 

-

Moments later, and with no warning, the handle on the door twisted. Before Sarah could make a move to hide herself, or to stop him from entering, Les stepped into the room. 

“Sarah, David made you soup and I got you a glass of water, it is on the kitchen table if you want-”

He stopped speaking when he looked up, and before she could stop herself, she was crying. 

“Sarah?” He asked. “Where’s your hair?”

Not knowing what else to do, she pointed to the drawer of her dresser. She let out another sob as he picked it up, and just as she did, David stepped into the room.  
He covered his gaping mouth with his hands at the sight of his younger brother holding his older sister’s disembodied hair. 

Sarah buried her face in the sheets of her bed, making them wet with her tears. She could hear David speaking, but he was cut off by the sound of Jack’s voice. 

“Davey, is everythin’ okay?” Jack shouted, loud enough that it could be heard through the entire Jacobs’ home. 

Two sets of footprints sounded in the hallway, one of them high heels: both of them getting closer. 

Sarah looked up as Jack and Katherine stepped in. Through her tears, she watched as the two of them assessed the situation. Then, in a blur, Katherine was pushing the boys out of the room. 

“Hi, Sarah,” Katherine sat on the bed next to her. Sarah pulled the covers back up to her face, ashamed, but Katherine didn’t seem to mind. “We’ve never met before, my name is Katherine Plumber, I’m good friends with your brother. I’ve heard a lot about you, and I’m glad to finally meet you.”

Sarah felt like laughing at the formality of Katherine’s words, and the way she was making the whole thing into a non-issue. 

“I certainly didn’t expect to meet you like this, Sarah,” Katherine laughed, “but I hope you’ll let me talk to you about this. Is that okay?”

Sarah swallowed, her throat bitter and salty, and nodded. Katherine’s smile was happy, relieved, and kind. Katherine held Sarah’s braid. 

“Are you sad you cut your hair? Or are you sad people found out?” 

Sarah took a moment to think before wiping a tear and answering Katherine’s question. “I’m sad I did it, and I’m sorry that people found out like this. But I’m not sorry I did it. I’d do it again if I could.”

Katherine nodded, and her eyebrows furrowed. “Why did you cut your hair off? It’s so pretty. And why would you do it again?”

“I want to sell it. I know barbers will buy it to make wigs, it’s nice enough hair. We need the money, what with David wanting to go back to school, and with father still not working. I’m not doing nearly enough to help out and I thought-”  
Sarah started to cry again. 

Katherine set the hair down on the bed, gingerly so that she didn’t hurt it. With one hand, Katherine touched Sarah’s shoulder. 

“Sarah?” Katherine asked, and Sarah looked up. “That is a very kind thing of you to do. Do you want to follow through on it?”

Sarah nodded, and pulled her dress down so she could stand up. 

“I am going to go tell your brothers and Jack that we are going to the barber’s. If you want to prepare, go ahead and do that,” Katherine stood up, but she smiled at Sarah, who nodded again. 

-

When both girls had shoes and hats on, they left for the barber shop closest to the Jacobs’ house. Katherine had already made Sarah laugh a few times, her sharp tongue making remarks before she could consider the effect they might have. 

“I am glad to know that Jack Kelly acts like that around every girl he meets,” Sarah giggled, her mind no longer occupied with her hair. “He would make an absolute fool of himself just to see a pretty girl smile.”

“Or a pretty boy,” Katherine whispered so that only Sarah could hear, her mouth turning up at the sides. 

“What do you mean by that?”

“Well,” Katherine’s voice stayed low, “you must have noticed that the way he acts around your brother David is very similar to how he acted when he first met you and me. The only difference is that David is more willing to allow him to act that way than either of us ever were.” 

Sarah blinked. “I had not noticed that before but,” she thought about it and shook her head, “now that you mention it-”

Katherine smiled widely and laughed, before stopping suddenly. “Here we are!” she exclaimed. Sure enough, the pole outside of the door showed red, white, and blue. 

The two of them stepped inside. If the barber was surprised to see the two of them there, he made no mention of it. 

“Good day, ladies,” he said, nodding slightly at them. “How may I help you today?”

Katherine stepped forward. “We were wondering if you buy hair to use for wigs?” When the man nodded, she opened the basket she had been carrying to reveal the braid. She took it out and handed it to him. 

“How much can we get for that?” Sarah tilted her head. 

“Were this blonde or black, I would be willing to give you twenty dollars,” said the barber. “Were this red, I could pay you twenty-five. But for this much brown hair, fifteen will do, yes?”

Katherine looked to Sarah and raised her eyebrows. Sarah stood up a little straighter and smiled, nodding. 

“Yes,” Katherine told him. “Fifteen will be enough.”

The barber went to his cash register and counted a wad of cash for Sarah, but handed the money to Katherine, who placed the hair on the countertop. 

Sarah thanked the man and started to leave, but Katherine placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. 

“How much would it cost, sir,” she asked, “for you to cut my friend’s hair? Just so that she has a neater hairstyle.”

“Katherine, I cannot afford-”

“I can pay for it, Sarah.”

And the next thing Sarah knew, she was in the barber’s chair, and he was neatly shaving the sides of her hair, cutting it so that it looked like Les’s did. Well, the way it did when he brushed it, which was rare. 

-

The bell rang as the door to the barber’s closed behind them. A breeze on Sarah’s neck was something she had not felt before, but she thought that maybe she liked it. A glance in the window, however, made her gasp. 

“I look like a boy in a dress, Katherine.” 

Katherine’s face sank as she listened to Sarah. “No you do not. You look like a beautiful girl. You look like a beautiful girl who does not need her hair. Not for hiding behind, not for other people telling her how beautiful she looks.”

The two of them walked back to Sarah’s home. At the door to her house, Sarah was still unsure. 

“What are my parents going to say about this?’ she asked, as they walked up the stairs. 

“They will say,” Katherine stopped Sarah by grabbing her hand, “that you are still the most beautiful girl in the world, just like you were with your long hair. To your parents, and to your friends, it does not matter if you have long hair or short hair or no hair. The fact that you did this for your family, that you sold your hair for fifteen dollars so that you could do something for someone else, proves that you are beautiful and brave and kind, Sarah.”

Neither girl could say whose lips met whose. But their lips were together, and Sarah’s back was against the wall, and Katherine’s hand was on the back of Sarah’s head, running through her newly short hair. 

Sarah pushed Katherine away, shaking her head violently. 

“I don’t, Katherine, I-” she stuttered. “This is not okay, and this is illegal and it is wrong and I cannot-”

“Sarah, I understand,” Katherine whispered. “If it is not something you want to do, that is fine. However, if this is something you would want to do, and it is something I would want to do, then it is not wrong. It is not wrong for Jack and I to be doing the same thing, is it?”

Sarah shook her head. 

“Besides the fact that you are prettier than Jack is, can you see any difference between the two of you?” 

Sarah shook her head. 

“If you want this, and if I want this, then there is not anything wrong with it. Besides, I would be willing to tell you that your oldest brother and Jack Kelly are currently engaging in something very similar. And they likely have before.”

Sarah took a shaky breath in. “If someone finds out, Katherine-”

“No one will,” Katherine looked into Sarah’s eyes. “Except, if you would be alright with telling them, David and Jack. And those two would never tell. We could help them, protect them, keep them safe, and they could do the same for us. We could be alright.”

Sensing that Sarah was still afraid, Katherine took a step back. 

“I understand if you do not want to,” Katherine looked at the ground. 

Sarah ran her fingers through her hair, and her fingers traced the shaved sides. With a sudden stroke of bravery, Sarah stepped forward and kissed Katherine once more.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you liked it! Leave me a comment and/or kudo if you did, and come check out my blogs on tumblr @spot-and-all-his-cronies or @javidblue!


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